We demonstrate in-vivo functional imaging of the human retina with Fourier domain optical coherence tomography employing frequency encoding of an excitation pattern. The principle is based on projecting a modulated rectangular pattern across the foveal region and acquiring a time series of B-Scans at the same vertical position across the pattern. The idea is to modulate the excitation with a frequency that is distinct from the heartbeat and irregular motion artifacts. Fourier analysis of the time series at each transverse position in the B-scan series allows assessing the retinal response as change in the FDOCT reflectivity signal exactly at the pattern modulation frequency. We observe a change in retinal reflectivity within the region of the outer segment photoreceptor layer exactly at the pattern modulation frequency.

Date Published: 25 February 2008
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 6844, Ophthalmic Technologies XVIII, 68440I (25 February 2008); doi: 10.1117/12.764330

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6844:
Ophthalmic Technologies XVIII
Bruce E. Stuck; Fabrice Manns; Per G. Söderberg; Michael Belkin M.D.; Arthur Ho, Editor(s)